Stress, traffic and tight schedules put pressure on MTC staff, say officials
The image of the toppled bus beneath the Gemini Flyover is still fresh in the minds of Chennaiites. Though there were no casualties in the June 27 accident, it sent shockwaves through the city. At least, three more accidents involving Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses have happened since.
So far, this year, there have been about 35 fatal accidents involving MTC buses. Drivers involved in such incidents are sent for a month-long training at the Institute of Road Transport (IRT), but stress levels remain unchanged, they say.
“The drivers face intense stress. Sometimes, have to work a full shift of 16 hours,” said K. Natarajan, general secretary of MTC Employees Progressive Union.
Generally, a driver begins his day at 4.30 a.m and is expected to work eight hours. He is also entitled to a day off after that “But, often he is asked to work till 10 pm. Due to shortage of drivers, he is asked to come in to work on his day-off too,” said Mr. Natarajan.
According to him the required driver strength is 5,800, but the current staff strength at MTC is just 5,000.
Another problem that adds to stress is the duration of a trip. “The timing was decided in 1965. Now with ongoing Metro Rail work and traffic congestion, it is not possible to reach the destination on time. So they try to drive fast whenever possible,” he said, adding that the time allotted for trips should be arrived at in a scientific manner.
Drivers involved in accidents are given counselling and yoga lessons to help them cope with stress. “Often, the drivers go into depression after the accident. Hence, they need counselling. They are also taught basic driving skills again and given yoga training,” said an IRT official. The drivers are also advised to follow healthy food habits.
Senior MTC officials said steps were being taken to fill driver vacancies. “It is not possible to change the schedule of buses as office-goers and college students will be affected. But we do make changes on some routes during non-peak hours. Once, Metro Rail work is completed, such problems will be solved,” the official said.
Keywords: MTC bus accident, Chennai road accident, Chennai road safety
Agree that this is an issue, however let's not make it sound that they are not accountable for
the accidents. I have found several times they look drunk and the really don't care for
anyone. MTC like all government operated outfits is unprofessional, corrupt and untrained.
As long as there are fundamental challenges to transport operations, the metro is not gong to
be any different. This paper published an article recently that there have been no lessons
learned from the chennai suburban MRTS project which also remains dysfunctional. If a bus
can fall off a flyover, will the chennai metro not fall off it's perch? Same indifferent
government.
I wonder what the Transport Minister and his Secretary does? Don't they organize meetings and effectively construct something useful?
I am citing an example of a developed nation and how we handle meetings over here. We identify bottlenecks and work to bring small changes. All these small changes over a period of time result in big change and sometimes when things don't work, the small change is reverted back without creating adverse impact. How difficult is it to revise the timing on routes? With disproportionate increase in vehicles and poor maintenance of roads and vehicles, can't the administration work to address the changes?
Why this "pass the blame" attitude? If we as adults don't take responsibilities to address the growing concern, there is no point in expecting graduates or school kids to follow regulations or address solutions!
Pathetic to see India deteriorate in this way.
yes,I think driver have so many responsibility at the time of driving
and also all the people who are transporting from buses their life is
dependent on driver's hand. so driver must have to stress free.
Any public transport vehicles should have auto drive transmission system that reduce more than 75% stress. This is essential, this i can see on Air-conditioned bus service. This should be implemented in all the buses.
It's true that drivers too tackle stress. But, other significant factors cannot be overlooked. Many a times, the stress per se isn't the cause for accidents. It's the stress & poor functioning of the bus. The latter plays a greater role in the undesirable outcome.Transport corporation must improve the working conditions of its employees.
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